Five-hundred people left their homeland together, in order to live together in their Utopia. They came from all over Germany, all led by one ideal. The Giessen Emigration Society crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1834 to create a model Democratic German State in the USA – that later became a State of Germans in Missouri.

The exhibition UTOPIA studies their myriad of stories through art and action. Political and social dimensions are explored and provide inspiration for everyone today. The exhibition moves as the Utopians once did, from Giessen and Bremen in Germany to Washington DC (German American Heritage Museum, opening on September 6) and St. Louis (Missouri History Museum, opening on November 22) – and from there onwards. Whoever checks "in" may join as well – in thoughts, by train, truck or ship.

The “Traveling Summer Republic,” a transatlantic collection of artists, creators, and scholars, generates a meeting of the minds with these travelers. After eight years they are bringing together their work and findings to create a world of discovery for people of all ages through video installations, texts, archives, footage, and photographs. Here is an invitation to a journey – through German and American States at turning points – of revolution and upheaval; along private, social, and philosophical adventures, through their motives, and the highs and lows of a bold vision. It is a journey through past and present Utopia.